Meanwhile, in Greece

[Greeks] have been left astonished and alarmed by the [British] government’s handling of the public health emergency. Britain’s chaotic strategy, initial soft-touch approach and high death toll have been met with disbelief in a country that, despite the eviscerating effects of a near decade-long debt crisis, has kept the virus under control.

[...]

In contrast to the more than 31,000 who have now succumbed to the disease in the UK, Greece has recorded one of the continent’s lowest casualty rates, with 150 deaths and fewer than 2,700 confirmed coronavirus cases after enforcement of tough measures to contain the epidemic early on.

[...]

It has been a stark change of fortune for a nation more usually associated with civil disobedience and incompetence.

[...]

As Britain enters the week uncertain of whether its lockdown will be significantly eased, Greeks are preparing beaches and hotels for a tourist season they hope will begin in July as restrictions gradually unwind.

  Guardian

I assume they have safeguards against foreigners bringing covid-19 with them. Or maybe they are still not letting any flights into the country.

Pride has replaced anger and shame – sentiments that prevailed throughout the rollercoaster ride that was the country’s brush with bankruptcy. Trust in the ability of state institutions has also reportedly returned.

[...]

[Prime Minister Kyriakos] Mitsotakis, a former banker who assumed power less than a year ago, has also been credited with decisive leadership, shutting down the economy – a body blow when it was just beginning to recover – and deferring to medical advice from the outset.

The Greek leader understood that the country’s austerity-hit health system would quickly collapse if the virus wasn’t contained. Experts in infectious diseases were brought in, taking centre stage with daily briefings.

“He is a details man who reads every study, every new bit of research about any advance on the virus,” said an aide.

I am so jealous.

There was, he added, no room for spin, showmanship, hubris or “any of the feelings of invincibility” that so often shackle nations with an imperial past. “We were very aware of Greece’s limitations.”

"Trying to make a hole in water."

P.S. I love the sound of Greek names.